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Changeling - Discussion Thread [Spoilers]

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Yea, I know, there is a "Changling News" thread, but I'll bet some people don't look in that forum, and even so, thats a thread about News regarding the movie, not about actual discussion about the movie itself, which I think should belong here.

So I just saw this movie tonight. It was one of those movies that I certainly wanted to see, but really didn't know anyone else who did, other than my brother and his wife. Lost power at the house today, so with not much I could do, I went out and saw it. Here are some thoughts and comments.

I really liked the movie. The story is solid, and the direction is fantastic. This is a movie that for me was chilling and disturbing at various points in the movie for various reasons. First off, since this is a B5 forum, I'll comment on seeing my first ever JMS-written motion picture.

I thought the script was good. I thought most of the dialogue was very good as well. There is really no humor in this one, which I think is good because JMS always seemed to be so hit or miss with humor. Humor REALLY has little/no place in this movie. I have started seeing that JMS tends to repeat some of his common themes and even lines of dialogue in many of his works. Jeremiah saying "Nothing is the same anymore", for example. I've had mixed emotions about this, and also had mixed emotions about one of his JMS/B5 lines that appeared in "Changling." "Never start a fight, but always finish it" is the one that appears in this movie. To be honest, I felt its use (and maybe this was just Jolie's delivery of it when she was talking to her son) was a little clunky. Maybe though, thats because Im used to John Sheridan saying it, and to ME it seemed odd hearing it again, but to a non-B5 viewer it might not be a big deal. However, the line itself is a key theme of the entire story. So I liked the concept but still not sure I liked hearing it in there. Did that make any sense? Aside from this, though, the movie is VERY well written, as are the characters and the character moments, and I was very impressed.

This is a movie that is toted as a "True Story" at the start. Not BASED on a True Story, but a TRUE STORY. I heard that the studio made JMS show research verifying facts of the case and the story to ensure if they put it in print on the screen, its either factually accurate, or parts where there isn't exact proof, things are extrapolated from the events. I bought this at first, but was a bit surprised that given this, NO MENTION was made to the fact that Gordon Northcott was actually living with his Grandmother (whom he thought was just his mother) and that she helped in some of the killings. Maybe someone felt that Northcott was chilling enough to stand on his own as the villian / killer, but if its supposed to be factually accurate (which by all accounts I do think all of the facts IN the movie are) I found it odd that a detail like that was omitted. Aside from that, from everything I can tell, the story shown on screen factual.

Now to the more important stuff --- the tone and delivery of the movie. To me, there were many disturbing parts, and I think much of that is Clint Eastwood's direction. The ENTIRE mental hospital sequence was disturbing. Mainly because she was literally taken off the streets and ended up there because a cop sent her with no trial or warrant. The entire atmosphere and appearance of the hospital was unsettling. More than enough to convince me never to set foot in one. Oddly enough, here is where I had another JMS/B5 moment. I really felt that the head doctor resembled, in a way, the interragator from "Intersections in Real Time" from B5. He had a similar demeanor. His task was the same --- get Jolie's character to confess to being wrong and sign a piece of paper letting the police department off the hook. He also made a comment about "take her to room 17" which really felt like what the interragator said before having the Drazi guy taken away. But, I digress. So the mental hospital sequences were very well crafted and it is in here that the strength of Jolie's character really starts to come out.

However, hands down for me, the most unsettling scene had to be Northcott's execution (by hanging). Clint did a GREAT job behind the camera, and Jason Butler Harner did a fantastic piece of acting. Ive seen a lot of movies with execution scenes in them, and none really effected me in any particular way. Hangings, Injections, Gas Chambers, I've seen several over the years. Often those about to die seem solom, or "at peace" with what is about to come. Jason Butler Harner did a great job of showing an already mentally unbalanced character come unglued. From when he was walking down the stairs to the execution chamber and eyeing the gallows, to him walking up the stairs and crying to the cops to stop making him "walk so fast" up the steps to his death. He really conveyed the panic well. And when the hood went over his head and he started singing "Silent Night" was certainly an odd choice and something to try to calm himself before the end. Even a slight shout as the door opened. I really felt myself putting myself in the shoes of someone walking down death row, and wondering what fear would be felt knowing you were taking the last couple steps of your life and how I would act. No scene of this type ever made me feel that way.

Interestingly enough, though, I never felt SORRY for the character even though that scene drew me in so well. As much fear as you felt coming from Northcott, and as much as I almost felt it myself, at the same time I kept thinking it was really nothing compared to what Northcott did to all those children and what THEY endured. This movie really did bring together a number of disturbing sequences and meshed them together well.

Another appalling aspect of this movie was the police corruption, which was well documented in the 1920s. Other movies in the past have told this aspect of the past of the Los Angeles Police Department, but probably none as well as this movie. All of the steps they took to make themselves look good, and cover up the facts was nausiating. That chief of police was STILL trying to cover his ass right up till the end, seeing off the kid who was lying on the train. Always trying to look good in front of the press. From press conferences, to the courtrooms of the film, they really unearthed the corruption, and it really made me wonder how in the hell people could even THINK the way they did during this case.

Additionally, though, at the heart of the story was JMS's tendency to show strong female characters. Jolie and a woman her character confonts in the mental hospital really deliver some strong performances, especially in the setting of the late 1920s. I can't say I've been a huge Angelina Jolie fan, but I think this has to be her finest performance to date.

So all in all I really liked it. I was a longer movie than most these days, but did tell a detailed story, and really kept things as factually accurate as could be told I think. I'd recommend this movie to just about anyone who can enjoy a good story.
 
Re: Changling - Discussion Thread [Spoilers]

A couple of more deviations from the exact truth, Detective Lester Ybarra was a composite character, and electroshock therapy wouldn't be invented until 1937. There are good articles on the wikipedia, under "Wineville chicken coop murders," and under Changeling. Also lots of good info on the IMDb, article. Check out "Goofs" for some of the deviations.

As I said in the other thread, I liked the film a lot. I agree that Angelina J. turns in a strong performance, and is a strong woman in the film. BUT - she is physically almost frail looking. Her strength is of spirit, and mind, not the action hero sort she is in many of her films. I like that.

addendum: I finally read the whole wiki article on the film. Lots of good info, about JMS, Eastwood, production, details of the true story. Well worth reading, but lots of spoilers, of course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling_(film)
 
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I will go and read about the real case this movie was based on, but for now I'll just revive the thread by saying I just saw the Changeling, and it's an amazing movie. I have had a bad habit of watching movies at home while doing at least one minor task. I actually had that intention this evening. Once the movie started, I was hooked. I literally sat and watched the entire movie without stopping or doing a thing.

It was gut-wrenching and sickening. The absolute certainty that some of the authoritarian characters made the most inhuman choices, and then when forced to face them, just digging in deeper and making their focus the ever-important task of "just making it/her go away".

I had no idea until first reading here about this movie just what could be done back in the early 1900's by people who were the unquestioned authorities. I do want to read up on just what was factual, because it is still hard for me to believe that so many people supposedly in the service of others had absolutely no care whatsoever for the victims. At no point did anyone seem to stop and think "my god, what might I have done?" or take any move to actually help out or correct the situation.

I knew vaguely that long ago women could be committed by family members for no valid reason. But to simply be a thorn in the police's side, and to find yourself locked with no rights or communication with the outside world in our relatively recent past... it is simply horrifying.

You have to admire the mother's spirit, and fight. But for the first time in my life I actually wondered if it might not just be easier to let go sometimes. Then I'd think of having a child out there somewhere, almost certainly disturbed, frightened, helpless and hopeless... how could a parent live with that uncertainty?

Needless to say, it moved me beyond belief. As others are discussing the technical side of it, I'll simply say that I was completely drawn in, and emotionally exhausted by the end. I saw no flaws in an aspect of the film (acting, sets, technical details, writing). In his nonstop whirlwind of a professional life, I do hope JMS stops from time to time and enjoys the knowledge that he made a truly fantastic, true, and meaningful script which was not destroyed in translation, but actualized in an amazing project.

Final word: trust no one. Ever. Everyone is just a lying bastard!

Well... maybe its not quite that bad.

;)
 
I don't think things have changed all that much. Now days, to get a family member committed, you just have to have enough $ to buy off a shrink, or other high mental health professional. The "authorities" will do most anything to 'CYA,' when necessary, as much today, as then. The laws may be better, and women are not as far in back of the bus as they once were, but those with the money, and the power, still rule.
 
So much is already stated, but, than I could spell out, so, I'll just echo the sentiment that it was a chilling view of authority runamock covering their ass. I did pause, knowing Angelina Jolie is in it, but, she's very good in the role, and even if she was typical Angelina Jolie in it, the movie would be worth seeing for Clint Eastwood's Direction and JMS' script. I think many who are Clint Eastwood or JMS fans are avoiding the movie because of Angelina Jollie being the star, but, I have convinced a few of them to take the chance.
 
Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, but I don't know her work, so I wasn't either drawn to the movie or scared away from it due to that factor. I just tend to be reluctant to see movies in the theater, unless I specifically want to blow a day just doing that. More a summertime activity for me, when I have a lot more spare time.

As far as getting someone committed these days versus long ago: I hate to say it, but I can see how groups like Scientology appeal to people who have had dealings with the psychiatric industry. Getting someone committed should have something to do with science and a scientific diagnosis of a mental illness, right?

If it's really that random, then it's worse than superstition, as it is treated like a science.
 
Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, but I don't know her work, so I wasn't either drawn to the movie or scared away from it due to that factor. I just tend to be reluctant to see movies in the theater, unless I specifically want to blow a day just doing that. More a summertime activity for me, when I have a lot more spare time.

Gia was very good, but, due to nature of the subject of the movie (dying of drug addiction and AIDs) very difficult to watch more than once. But, she's had a lot of schlock, like the Tomb Raider movies, and of course, due to her commercial popularity that turns some people off without even knowing her work :(
 
Actors do schlock for the same reasons some of us did jobs we didn't like or even hated: it can be hard to find work. A steadily working actor has to take what comes their way, unless they are really lucky. I am glad this was (I think) he first part I saw her in. If she hadn't been fantastic in the part, the movie would have failed.
 

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